The timeless adventures of Toad, Mole, Ratty and Badger have enchanted children and their parents for more than a century. This is a glorious edition of a children’s classic, with enchanting illustrations by Charles van Sandwyk.
The Complete Poems for Christopher Robin
Illustrated by E. H. Shepard
Introduced by the author
Preface by the author
The Complete Poems for Christopher Robin celebrates A. A. Milne’s two enduring children’s poetry volumes in a beautiful new Folio Society edition.
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The Complete Poems for Christopher Robin
A. A. Milne’s seminal works of children’s poetry, When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six, have been engaging and delighting readers for over 90 years. This exquisite new edition brings the two collections together in one complete volume that will introduce a new generation to these captivating characters and their friendships and woes.
But now I am Six, I’m as clever as clever.
So I think I’ll be six now for ever and ever.
- Now We Are Six
Production Details
Bound in full cloth blocked with a design by David Eccles
Set in Caslon
224 pages
292 integrated colour illustrations
Printed endpapers
Blocked slipcase
9½˝ × 6¾˝
Lessons of Friendship
‘In a world shaken by war, Winnie-the-Pooh offered innocence, simplicity and a happy place to escape.’
- Telegraph
One of the most famous children’s authors of all time, A. A. Milne based Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga and Roo on toys that his son Christopher Robin played with in his nursery. He transformed this raggedy bunch of stuffed toys into distinct, lively characters and stories that are heart-warming and wry, teaching lessons of friendship and harnessing the immense power of young imaginations. Such was the endearing nature of the sensitive and often complex characters that, as well as becoming much-loved classics on children’s bookshelves, their antics have also been extensively adapted for film, TV and the stage.
A meeting of artistic minds
Aside from writing whimsical verse and prose for children, Milne was an accomplished playwright and novelist who also regularly wrote for Punch magazine – it was through his work for this publication that he met the illustrator E. H. Shepard. Milne’s poems swiftly became inseparable, indeed unthinkable, without Shepard’s iconic illustrations, so our edition features 292 of the exquisite original full-colour drawings from the artist who became known as ‘the man who drew Pooh’. Heartfelt and full of emotional integrity, Shepard’s interpretations of the stories have personified Pooh for generations of readers and anchor our visual interpretation of the world of Milne’s prose and verse.
A preface and introduction by A. A. Milne also accompany the edition, which is presented in a printed slipcase and bound in cloth with a design by illustrator David Eccles. This is the gifting or collectable companion for nostalgic readers as well as for those yet to discover the charming world of Milne.
About A. A. Milne
A. A. Milne (1882–1956) was born in London and attended Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge. At university, he edited Granta and in 1904 had his first piece published in Punch. In 1915 Milne volunteered and was commissioned into the Royal Warwickshire Regiment as a signals officer. In 1916, he was invalided home from the Somme and spent the last part of the war in Intelligence. Milne was an extremely successful playwright, whose titles include Mr Pim Passes By (1919), The Dover Road (1921) and Toad of Toad Hall (1929). The author of numerous non-fiction and fiction titles, including the ‘locked-room’ novel The Red House Mystery (1922), his best-known works are his two collections of children’s poetry, When We Were Very Young (1924) and Now We Are Six (1927), and most famously his two Pooh books, Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928).
About E. H. Shepard
Ernest Howard Shepard was born in London in 1879. His father was an architect and encouraged his childhood hobby of drawing. When it came to choosing a career, Shepard decided to pursue his love of art, and here too he had the backing of his father. In 1897, he became one of the youngest students on the Royal Academy’s roll. During the First World War Shepard enlisted in the army and, on his return, he began working at Punch magazine, fulfilling a long-held ambition to draw for the publication. It was here that he was introduced to A. A. Milne as a potential illustrator for his characters. Although Milne was initially hesitant, the sketches were well received and Shepard went on to illustrate all the Pooh books. Shepard illustrated many other books during his career, including a number of Kenneth Grahame titles. He also wrote two children’s books: Ben and Brock (1965) and Betsy and Joe (1966). He died in 1976.